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President Dmitry Medvedev and his wife Svetlana Medvedeva.
A first lady's ceremonial duties are many and varied, but Svetlana Medvedeva may claim the oddest of all should she accept an invitation to chair the first national congress of blondes as the "main blonde of the country."
More than 550 blond Russian women have voted to invite Medvedeva, 46, to head the All-Russia Congress of Blondes next month, the organizers said on their web site.
It was unclear Thursday whether any of the more than 660 registered participants voted against Medvedeva, who is, after all, not a natural blonde.
"Medvedeva is a paragon of perfect style and high-society glamour," the blondes said in a statement that also praised her charity work. "Many eminent beauties envy her finesse and elegance."
Medvedeva made no public comment on the proposal Thursday.
The First All-Russia Congress of Blondes runs Sept. 23 to 25 in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. The event's program, posted online, lists activities such as makeup workshops, a street march, the unveiling of a monument to a blonde, the opening of a museum of blondes, and matches of tick-tack-toe.
Other famous Russian blondes are expected to participate, among them Soviet-era movie stars Svetlana Svetlichnaya, 71, and Yelena Kondulainen, 53, an ethnic Finn whose name is misspelled on the web site.
Local news site Sochi-24.ru said Medvedeva is also a prime contender for the congress' "Blonde of the Year" title.
The group plans to decide at the congress whether to join the All-Russia People's Front, a new electoral vehicle for Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, predecessor and political patron of the incumbent president, Dmitry Medvedev.
Coincidentally, Putin's party, United Russia, with which the All-Russia People's Front is affiliated, is holding its own congress on Sept. 24 and 25 — the same days as the blondes' congress. United Russia's gathering will kick-start the party's campaign for the State Duma elections in December.
If Medvedeva appears at the blondes' congress, attention is bound to be drawn away from United Russia's conference. The ruling tandem of Putin and Medvedev has not commented on the conflicting schedule for the events.
